If We Were Having Coffee… 26th November

If we were having coffee, I would ask you to meet me at my hotel restaurant and we’d sit in a corner which gives the lovely view of the pristine blue Arabian Gulf.

If we were having coffee, I’d say hello and offer you a hot cup of coffee of your choice, of course from the coffee machine in our hotel. My choice today would be café latte for I like my coffee to be milky and sweet. I have cut down dramatically on my sugar intake, but coffee is an exception.

If we were having coffee, I would like you to tell me how life is fairing on your side of the world. Hope you had a good week.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that earlier this week, we went to Kosebasi, a Turkish restaurant. We had ordered Fındık Lahmacun which is a traditional pidette with ground seasoned meat and Sebzeli Pide which is a Turkish Pizza with mushroom, corn and cheese. It was interesting to note that Fındık Lahmacun was a boat shaped pizza while Sebzeli Pide was a closed pizza!!

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I am pretty disturbed by a recent incident. Our family friend’s 12 year old son was caught cheating during school exams. This has saddened, shocked and disappointed all of us. The child is an all rounder who is not only brilliant in his studies but also plays a lot of sports and wins medals every time. I know that the parents have instilled the right values in the child but still such a thing has happened.

‘What if it was my child?’ is playing on loop in my head. And this makes me wonder as parents what do we do when our kids make wrong choices? I know, during our younger days we were guilty of misbehaviour too. But as parents, somehow, such wrong doing from our kids seems like an act of betrayal. It feels like a moral issue. Of course, we will address the issue, reiterate the consequences, help the child learn and guide him in the right direction. But what if all this fails? What if our kids throw their life away? I know, I am letting this affect me too much and thinking too much into this one misconduct.

At this moment, I just hope that our kids learn from their falls and failure and turn out good at the end of it.

If we were having coffee, I’d take your leave and wish you a relaxing and interesting weekend and a great week ahead.

34 comments

That food looks yum and I also like my coffee a bit on the sweet side. It must have been such a shock for the parents. I think the parents or someone close to the child should talk to him and understand what led to this. I am sure the child should also be in a lot of guilt. Hope he talks and this gets better.Parul Thakur recently posted…Outpourings from a proud father

Yeah, coffee should be as sweet as love 🙂
Yes, the parents did talk to the child and tried to understand his motive. Hope it becomes a big learning for the child and he never repeats such a thing ever.

Wow, Shilpa! The more I learn about you, the more I realise how similar we are! I, too, love my coffee milky and sweet! I too have reduced my sugar intake, but with coffee – well, I could say, “everything is fair in love and coffee!” 🙂
The food you ordered was another of my favs! Not the non-veg stuff, but the pizza with the corn and the cheese and mushroom…droollllll…:-)
I agree, one does feel concerned when incidents such as the one with the young lad took place. I remember how I would feel guilty by the mere thought of cheating during exams. But, now, things are so different. Is it because the world has changed so much that things like cheating etc don’t feel like betrayal of trust, feel like something worth ignoring for the kids? I wonder..
I enjoyed having coffee with you, Shilpa! See you next week! Until then, have a relaxing weekend and a great week ahead! <3

Now isn’t that cool! Soul sisters are we!?!
They say coffee should be black as hell, strong as death and sweet as love!! And we follow the last part to the hilt 😀
I think the values, morals and ethics hold true and strong in today’s times too, but yes, people who believe in following these is on the decline. And that’s truly sad!
Thanks for joining me for the cup of coffee this weekend, Shilpa. Looking forward to have you here next week too. Cheers ♥

You know, each time we hear about an incident, the first thought that comes into our heads is …what if it were our child. I feel that makes us more compassionate towards the other parents, in that we-are-all-in-this-together feeling. For the most part children learn good things, but then, they’re also curious and like to take risks until experience teaches them better. Hugs. I do hope the friend’s son learns from it, and moves on.

🙂 If I were having coffee with you, I’d decline the sugar because I prefer my coffee without sugar, strong. Interesting pizzas. I am not a fan of pizzas, but my son is!

I loved the thought you shared, Vidya. Yes, I can empathize with the child’s parents and understand their state of mind too.
Yes, we hope the kid has learnt his lesson. Fingers crossed.
I’ll keep your coffee preference in mind and would serve you the way you love it 🙂
Thanks Vidya. I am having a good time here! 🙂

Shilpa, in instances like the one you quote, it’s more important to first allow the child the space to explain why he did what he did. A kid who feels he will be given a fair hearing, and won’t be judged and reprimanded before that, is more likely to get over one error and never go on that track again…Anusuya recently posted…NaBloPoMo Day 26: You Know You’re Being Seen as a Writer When….

Thanks for the cappuccino Shipla. I do love a good view of the Arabian Sea with my coffee…what a thrill. The Turkish pizzas look good. I have some new Turkish neighbors I am trying to get to know. They said they cook, and we can never find any Turkish dishes here. I hope someday to exchange dishes with them for fun. It is sad about the boy and the cheating ..but perhaps this is a warning shot across his bow that will save him.

Thanks for having coffee with me, Pamela!!
May be you can drop the names of a few Turkish dishes while catching up with your neighbors and hope they take the hint 😉
Yea, it was a sad experience. Hope the child has learnt his lessons!

Happy weekend to you too Shilpa. Even i worry many times, what if couldn’t raise my kids well. I think, we should try our best to instill good values and there is nothing more we can do beyond that.Ramya recently posted…A Priceless gift #NaBloPoMo #day26

Your coffee photo looks yummy and the pizza as well. I enjoy almost anything with mushrooms! I hope the parents of the young man who was caught, allow him to suffer the consequences of his actions and not try to smooth it over for him. That is what will truly help him learn. Sometimes I feel we all love our children so much that we try to keep them from being unhappy but that is all part of life so we do them no favors by shielding them.

Thanks for having coffee with me, Nancy!
Agree with you completely. The child has to experience the natural outcomes of his choice and there shouldn’t be any sugar coating or underplaying the action by the parents.
Hope you have a great week too!

The food looks delicious and different from what I am used to. We never know what causes a person to cheat. Sometime the pressure to excel is to great. We can only hope that individual learns a lesson. Have a pleasant week.

I like my coffee milky and sweet too. 🙂
Boat shaped pizza, huh! I make different shapes of dosas for my son, never thought that for a pizza. 🙂
Can’t help but think what if it was our kid when incidents like this happen, right? I always worry if I am doing right by my kid. When he misbehaves I tend to blame me more. I think as parents we can never stop worrying. But kids have to and need to make their share of mistakes just like we did, to learn and grow, right?
Have a great week ahead, Shilpa. 🙂

Another sweet and milky coffee lover… that’s cool!
Different shaped dosas sounds interesting!!
Yes, as parents we just cannot stop ourselves from worrying about our kids and feel guilty about their wrong choices too. But as you rightly said, they need to learn and grow from their experiences just like us!
Thanks for having coffee with me this weekend, Vinitha 🙂

Leave a Comment

Hey! I am Shilpa Garg.
Welcome to A Rose is a Rose is a Rose! I’m glad you’re here. Here you will find thoughts, views, opinions and observations of things around me, as they are, not as they should be. Read More…